The opponents of co-hosts Philippines have been made known, as the Official Draw Ceremony of the 2016 ASEAN Football Federation Championship, also known as the Suzuki Cup, happened Tuesday night in Myanmar.
Hosts Myanmar and the Philippines were both placed in Pot 1 for their respective groups. Reigning champions Thailand and Malaysia were in Pot 2, while Singapore and Vietnam were in Pot 3. Indonesia, who are returning after the FIFA suspension meted in the World Cup/Asian Cup qualifiers, were in Pot 4, along with the winning team in the AFF Suzuki Cup preliminary qualifiers.
The Ceremony started with the draw for the qualification round for lower-ranked countries Brunei Darusaalam, Laos, and Timor Leste, along with hosts Cambodia.
The groups for the Final Tournament were then determined next. The draw result puts the Philippines against Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore in Group A. Notably, these three countries are ones who eliminated the Azkals from title contention in the last three editions of the Cup.
Wow! AZKALS have just been drawn in the group with countries who eliminated us in the semis for the past 3 editions of Suzuki Cup! GAME ON!
— dan stephen palami (@dscpalami) August 2, 2016
In the other group, Myanmar will be joined by Vietnam, Malaysia, and the qualifier.
Consequently, here is the schedule of matches for Group A:
November 19 – Philippines vs Singapore
November 22 – Indonesia vs Philippines
November 25 – Philippines vs Thailand
